It was the first horse racing track in Oklahoma: Blue Ribbon Downs has been in Sallisaw for more than 30 years, and recent developments could have horses racing there again.

The race track earned Sallisaw the title of the horse racing capital of Oklahoma.

Advertisement

Since it closed two years ago, businesses say the economy has suffered, and there's now new hope that horses will race again.

Brian Muse has trained more than 60 race horses.

"I grew up racing horses. It's the only way that I know of right now to make a living," Muse said. "I think that the whole city of Sallisaw and Sequoyah County kind of revolves around the race track."

Race horses used to mean jobs.

"I employ 10 people here myself, and if racing was here, we would probably employ more," Muse said.

"It's also been said that for every horse that steps on the track, seven jobs are created," business owner Raymond Merrill said. "That's a lot of jobs."

Merrill said that not having the races has affected the economy.

"Our sales probably dropped 20 percent after the track closed," Merrill said. "We have a lot of horsemen in Sallisaw that moved here just for this reason. A lot of them are still here. Their families are still here. They have other jobs now, maybe, and a lot of them are leaving. We need to turn that around. We need the ones who are here to stay, and we need some more to come."

In a statement from the Cherokee nation, which currently owns the track, they said, "If we can find something that's a good fit for everyone involved, the Cherokee nation will pursue possibly reopening Blue Ribbon Downs in some form. However, at this time, it is simply too early to definitively say yes."

But just the possibility of horse racing returning to Sallisaw is good news.

"Everybody has their fingers crossed, and I think they will someday," Muse said.